Dakereon's decision day
Decision day has finally arrived for North Charleston (S.C.) Fort Dorchester four-star quarterback Dakereon Joyner.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Joyner will announce his decision between finalists South Carolina and N.C. State during a 4:00 ceremony at the Fort Dorchester auditorium.
Joyner will announce his decision today -- Father's Day -- in honor of his late father Damond Alton Joyner, who passed away in 2009.
"I'm real excited," Joyner said last month of his impending decision. "I know my city is waiting to hear. I'm just excited to get it over with and I'm thankful. It's been a long ride since my eighth grade year, getting recruited, but its finally over now. But I'm thankful and I'm grateful and I'm glad I came down to one school. It's less stress and I feel good. I'm just ready to focus on this season and get these next six months over with and go ahead and enroll and be ready to play college ball."
Joyner has whittled his extensive offer list -- featuring scholarships from Alabama, Georgia, Louisville, Oregon, Clemson, Florida, Georgia Tech, UNC, Tennessee and Virginia Tech -- down to his final two.
Both South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp and N.C. State coach Dave Doeren already know the dual-threat quarterback's decision.
Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper have made Joyner a priority since they arrived in Columbia.
"Ah, I love them," Joyner said. "In-state school, the whole state shows me love. Muschamp, he's got faith in me. Some people say I'm not a quarterback, but he's got faith in me. Coach Roper is a good offensive coordinator, he knows what he's doing. Really the fan base and the coaching staff show me love."
Likewise, N.C. State has recruited the Elite 11 Finalist hard and had him on campus multiple times.
"I like Coach Doeren and (Eliah) Drinkwitz, he's probably one of the best OCs in the game," Joyner said. "He did real good at NC State last year. I just like NC State, I don't know why, but there's just something about NC State that makes you feel comfortable. Even though it's an out-of-state school, I'm just comfortable there."
As a junior, Joyner was named the South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year when he completed 190 of 297 passes for 3,642 yards and 44 touchdowns and rushed for 1,089 yards and 12 TDs.
Joyner is ranked the No. 196 overall prospect in the 2018 class, the No. 12 athlete and the No. 3 prospect in the state of South Carolina.
Joyner plans to enroll early at the school of his choice.